An Indian sadhu (Hindu holy man) sits on the banks of Sangam – the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers – on the auspicious bathing day of 'Maghi Purnima' during the Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad on February 19, 2019. Millions of Hindu pilgrims took the plunge in holy rivers on the most auspicious bathing days of the Kumbh Mela festival, led by naked, ash-smeared holy men and accompanied by chants from Hindu holy texts. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)

In this July 24, 2016 photo, a pilgrim takes a bath in a sacred mud pool during the annual Voodoo celebration in Plaine-du-Nord, Haiti, Saturday, July 23, 2016. Pilgrims come to bathe in the mud and make offerings expecting a miracle. (Photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo)

A man dressed as Hindu god Shiva, smokes during an annual Hindu religious festival locally known as Shyam Baba festival in Ajmer, in the desert Indian state of Rajasthan, April 12, 2015. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/Reuters)

An Afghan refugee girl shows her younger brother a calf in a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, February 6, 2015. (Photo by Muhammed Muheisen/AP Photo)

Girls accompany grooms as they sit separate from the brides during a mass wedding for 150 couples in Beit Lahiya town in the northern Gaza Strip July 20, 2015. The wedding was funded by al-Basheer Society for Relief and Development. (Photo by Suhaib Salem/Reuters)

Throughout the course of the long war in Afghanistan, Coalition troops have relied on thousands of military working dogs to help keep them safe, and make their jobs easier. The dogs are trained to detect explosives, to find illegal drugs, to search for missing comrades, or target enemy combatants. Not only are they active on the front lines, but behind the lines they serve as therapy dogs, service dogs, and loyal companions. They also share the same risks as the ground troops, suffering injuries and sometimes death on the battlefields. Gathered here are images of these dogs and their handlers in Afghanistan and back home, from over the past several years, part of the ongoing series here on Afghanistan.

Children play football in Bujumbura, Burundi on March 19, 2015. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

A protestor gestures toward the White House on the Ellipse near the South Lawn of the White House during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)